This project removes specific network infrastructure bottlenecks to support big data science at the University of Idaho (UI). This project implements a set of 10-fold bandwidth upgrades to: 1) the UI campus core network; 2) the Northwest Knowledge Network data repository; and 3) the DoE Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for replication/mirroring of NKN data with proximate access to significant High Performance Computing (HPC) and visualization resources for researchers. This complements previous institutional and NSF-funded improvements and enables true 10 Gigabit per second (Gbps) end-to-end data transfers to support all researchers at the UI.
The enhancements enable big data movement at both the Institute for Bioinformatics and Evolutionary Studies (IBEST) and the Northwest Knowledge Network (NKN) specifically, but also for all researchers at the University of Idaho. The NKN supports data management activities and accessibility to research datasets in response to new data management requirements by NSF and other funding agencies. This also allows distributed researchers to work effectively in collaborative teams and enables big data analysis, visualization and sharing of distributed datasets with HPC clusters. This permits rapid processing of very large datasets such as downscaled climate scenarios, high-throughput genomics and remote sensing data encompassing both Idaho and the Pacific Northwest. It removes network bottlenecks for real-time connections to distributed campus locations (complementing recent NSF investments) and K-12 schools and educational networks for STEM training.
